Milling tool holders commonly employ a tool-holding component having a frustoconical male end, and a shank having a female opening for receiving the male end.
Various ways are known in the art for tightly joining the shank to the tool holder.
My prior patent applications disclose novel ways for joining the tool holder and the shank together to prevent the tool from shattering from tool movement such as when used with a hydraulic tool system. My earlier inventions prevent tool deflection and avoid a poorly finished workpiece.
The broad purpose of the present invention is to provide an improved tool holder combination comprising an elongated tool holder having means at one end for supporting a milling tool, a frustoconical tapered midsection and a slotted cylindrical end.
The shank has a frustoconical female opening for receiving the tapered midsection of the tool holder, and an inner cylindrical cavity for receiving the cylindrical end of the tool holder.
In my prior applications I employ an axially movable draw screw in the bore of the shank to engage the tool holder. Turning the draw screw draws the tapered end of the tool holder into the female opening of the shank.
The present invention is illustrated in several embodiments of my invention. Two embodiments use a camming plug for connecting the male and female components together. In one embodiment the shank receives the male end of the tool holder in a position in which a transverse opening in the shank is aligned with a transverse camming opening in the tool holder. The camming plug is inserted in the transverse openings in both the shank and the tool holder. The camming plug has a cylindrical camming structure received in the camming opening of the tool holder in such a manner that when the camming plug is rotated in one direction, it cams the tool holder toward a wedged locked position in the shank. Rotating the camming plug in the opposite direction removes the tool holder from its locked position. This embodiment requires the user to remove the camming plug from both the tool holder and the shank to separate the two components.
In a second embodiment of the invention, I employ a connecting structure inside the female opening of the shank. The connecting structure is axially movable in the shank, and has a camming opening aligned with the camming plug-receiving opening of the shank. The connecting structure also has a latching structure that is connected to the tool holder by rotating the tool holder with respect to the connecting structure.
A camming plug is inserted in both the camming opening in the shank, and the camming opening of the connecting structure. The camming plug has a camming midsection that when turned in one direction axially biases the connecting structure and the tool holder toward a locked position in the shank. The camming plug is rotated in the opposite direction to axially move the tool holder to a release position to quickly separate the tool holder from the shank. The shank can be separated from the tool holder without removing the camming plug.
Other variations of the concept are also disclosed.
Still further objects and advantages of the invention will become readily apparent to those skilled in the art to which the invention pertains, upon reference to the following detailed description.